Massive police presence in Damascus Gate area after officer murdered in terror attack

A large number of police officers reported for duty at Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate this morning, two days after a policewoman was murdered in a terror attack. Arab store owners in the area are claiming that the security measures are affecting their business. “Why do we need to be punished for something that three people who weren’t even from here did?” asked one store owner.

Two days after the terror attack in which Hadas Malka was murdered, the Damascus Gate area in Jerusalem has gone from being the scene of a bloody stabbing attack to a place packed with tourists and Jewish and Arab residents. However, there is a sense of increased tensions in the area due to the massive presence of police officers.

The officers are conducting body searches and asking people to present their ID cards and papers. After 350 Palestinians who were residing in Israel illegally were expelled to the West Bank yesterday in response to the terror attack, more illegal aliens were arrested today.

Damascus Gate, today Photo Credit: Channel 2 News

The store owners in the area say that they are suffering the most. “There’s already a drop in sales today,” Muhammad Shetye, who owns a store on Sultan Suleiman Street, told Channel 2 News. “Fewer tourists are coming because they heard about what happened here. Why do we need to be punished for something that three people who weren’t even from here did?”

“We aren’t afraid,” said Jessica, a British tourist who was visiting Zedekiah’s Cave today. “Everything here is so organized and [there’s] a lot of security. We don’t think there’s something to be afraid of.”